Often when describing the customer relationship, companies talk about beating competitors to win and retain consumers. This is obviously true at a basic level – after all, you will be judged against rivals in terms of factors such as speed of service, helpfulness of staff and price of products. However, it can only take you so far....
We’re now well into the holiday shopping season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us but plenty of shopping days to go before Christmas itself. The trading picture so far this year has been mixed, and for many retailers this time of year is make or break time.
The rise of the smartphone has transformed how people interact with each other, brands and the world around them. Rather than being tied to a PC or landline phone, smartphones empower users by putting a computer in their pocket. Last Christmas Amazon reported that 70% of its customers shopped through a mobile device, for example.
When it comes to service, customers today demand the highest standards from every organization that they deal with, in every industry and across every channel. Ensuring your company meets their expectations can appear daunting, particularly in highly competitive markets. Here are five key trends driving customer service strategy....
Whatever sector they are in businesses are embracing digital transformation, implementing new technologies and ways of working in a bid to differentiate against increasing competition and to get ahead of rivals. However, too often these digital projects can fail to improve the customer experience...
Providing customer service through social media has multiple advantages for both consumers and companies. Customers want the convenience and simplicity of being able to contact companies through Twitter and Facebook, without needing to call or email a business. Done well, social customer service also benefits brands.
Traditionally brands have segmented their customer bases by demographic factors such as age, and used this information to drive specific customer experiences for each group. However, this only goes so far, as age isn’t always a good guide to customer needs. For example, 45% of APAC consumers are millennials, but that doesn’t mean they all have the same needs, wants and desires.
When customers deal with your organization, they don’t care which department they are communicating with – they simply want the best possible experience and service. They expect to receive high quality, joined-up service and get a consistent, accurate answer to any question that they might have.
Good customer service leads to happier, more loyal customers who stay with you longer, spend more and are more likely to recommend your business to family and friends. However, it can be difficult to measure the exact impact of individual customer service interactions on these metrics, leading to the contact center being seen as a cost, rather than a department that boosts the bottom line.
Earlier this month, we published the 2016 Eptica Insurance Multichannel Customer Experience Study, which evaluated how insurers in the US, across ten sectors are meeting the challenge of new digital channels for customer service. To do this, we researched their ability to answer routine questions on five digital channels....